Election advice rings historic

Mitt Romney may not have won converts with his controversial comments about the 47 percent, but at least he was adhering to age-old political advice. As old as Marcus Cicero, anyway.

And Democrats seizing those words to use against Romney, is equally as old. At least according to a new book on electioneering.

The advice in question is contained in a tight little translation from Luther College professor Philip Freeman. Published by Princeton University Press, "How to Win an Election: An Ancient Guide for Modern Politicians" reads knowingly, particularly at polling time.

Compiled by Quintus Tullius Cicero to guide his idealistic brother Marcus Cicero in his campaign for Roman consul in the sixth century B.C., this new translation could as well be aimed at any of our more current and more local candidates.

At less than 90 pages, pundits and politicians can digest the ageless advice in less time than it takes to fill out an absentee ballot. What they will find is that though we credit the ancients with the devising of democracy, we must also give them credit for suggesting ways to undermine, circumvent and otherwise compromise the process. No doubt, the results then, as now, required voters duped by equal parts deception and dynamism.

Quintus explains early on that his brother must seize the community's youthful zeal, a lesson amplified by Barak Obama's 2008 campaign. "It will help your campaign tremendously to have the enthusiasm and energy of young people on your side." Whether this same exuberance is evident again in early November is uncertain, but its truth echoes its history.

Jarring television spots shout at viewers round the clock, declaring deceit on the part of the other guy's choice. Quintus was concerned here as well, telling his younger brother, "For a candidate must be a chameleon, adapting to each person he meets, changing his expression and speech as necessary."

Apparently the super PACs bankrolling elections both large and small, are the not the first to recognize the power of the smear. Quintus reminds his younger brother how, "It wouldn't hurt to remind (voters) of what scoundrels your opponents are and to smear these men at every opportunity." The smear, it appears, rings both ancient and new.

Sunday morning talking heads regularly lament the hollow echoes of one another's political opponents. Their complaints often reverberate along what might be Quintus' most direct axiom on issues: "Stick to vague generalities."

While the election of 64 B.C. is remembered by historians if not voters, Freeman's compact version, with the Latin alongside the translation, demonstrates that while the minutia of concerns changes like the leaves, the outline of political posturing is timeless.

There is always trouble when appropriating too much wisdom from the past to suggest lessons for the present, but the laser-like points on political maneuvering made here are hard to dismiss. As well, though some observers might find little of distinction between the red candidate and the blue candidate, what is certain is both are hoping more than anything, over the next 40 days, to seize the harsh but ageless lessons of "How to Win an Election."

Good reading.

Rating: 4 out of 5

Glen Young teaches English at Petoskey High School. His column, Literate Matters, appears the second and fourth Thursday of each month. Young can be reached at P.O. Box 174, Petoskey, Mich. 49770.